Vehicle suspension.



' E. E. WEMP.

VEHICLE SUSPENSION.

APPLlcAro-N FILED MAR.,7.1914.

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E. E. WEMP.

VEHICLE SUSPENSION.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1. 1914.

1,142,468." PatentedJune 8, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

jvc/fr" M E iii ERNEST E. WEMP, 0F PONTIAC, MICHIGAN.

VEHICLE SUSPENSION. s

menace..

Specification of Letters Patent.

liatented i une 8, i915.;

Application filed March 7, 1914. Serial No. 823,075.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ERNEST E. WEMP, citizen of the United States, residing at Pontiac, county of Oakland, State of'Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful improvementl in Vehicle Suspension, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable Others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this speciication. v

My invention relates to a suspension device for vehicle frames shown in the accompanying drawings and morel particularly pointed out in the following speciication 4and claims.

A roadway is made up of a number of elevations and depressions, or astheyl may be termed, of positive or negative obstructions, where we consider an elevation as positive and a depression as negative. Likewise, we may consider a' mean roadway as a line i midway between the `positive and negative obstructions of the actual roadway, and relatiye to 4which there must be an equal numv berA of such positive and negative obstructions. s

The axles of any vehicle in passing along any roadway, must conform to the contour of it, and in so doing, there'are set up 1n the axles, accelerating forces, which are either positive or negative, accordingto the obstructions encountered. These accelerating forces in turn are transmitted to the vehicle springs, and so to the passenger-carr rying frame of the vehicle.

Inv ordinary vehicular construction the springs are attached directly to the front and rear axles respectively of the vehicle, and any forces imparted to the axles from roadway'obstmctions, must be absorbed by the acceleration of the mass of the frame which is supported by the axle receiving the shock. For example: if the front wheels of a vehicle strike an elevation or positive obj struction, a positive accelerating force is created in the front axle,"which is transmitted to the front end of the vehicle frame through the springs, and must beabsorbed by the acceleration of the mass of the frame supported by the front axle only. Similarly, if a negative obstruction is encountered by the frontv wheels only, thel shock must be absorbed by the negative acceleration of themass of the frame supported by the front axle only. Likewise, if an obstruction (either 'positive or negative) is encountered by the lrear wheels only, the shockmust be absorbed by the acceleration of the mass of the frame supported by the rear axle only. Y-

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a suspension means whereby any shock force, either positive or negative, is transferred equally to the front and rear of the'frame, and is absorbed bv the acceleration of the whole mass of the vehicle frame.

Themeans employed, l designate -as a balance suspension.'

In he drawings accompanying this speciicatiom-Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an automobile frame indicating the bal# ance suspension installed in a vehicle employing longitudinally disposed springs'. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of'one side of the frame shown in Fig. l. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation' of a Vfragmentary portion of an automobile frame indicating the bal-ance suspension device appliedv to a vehicle employing transverse springs. Fig.

sov

4 is an endelevation of the frame shown in note the front and rear axles of a vehicle.

. B and B are bell crank' levers respec- 1 tively pivoted to the axles A and A.

C and C are radius rods' attached froi the front and rear axles to the frame D! E is a drag-link connecting the lower arms of the bell-crank levers B and B together. A

S, S are the 'vehicle springs engaged to the frame and respectively connected with the other arm of the ,bell .crank levers.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 5 of the drawings z--Consider bell crank levers B and B rotatably mounted upon' fulcrums A' and A', and connected ati and f by drag link E. lf any force 'P be applied at (i. the turning moment at l fer where a: and are perpendiculars respec- Figs. 5 and xare olia.),iammaticv 'Sli tivelyto lP-G and f`-f, through similarly, if any force P be applied at G', the turning moment at f'=,j l

if the system be in equilibrium, then the moment at F :moment at f', and

Any change in the forces l? and P Will cause the bell cranks to rotate until the equation h lt satisfies, and the system is again in static equilibrium.

As applied to a vehicle; (see Fig. 6) A. and A represent the front and rear axles respectively; G and G the points oit applica-v tion of the frame load. rlhe horizontal reactions of the forces f and i" are provided by radius rods C and C ,attached from the front and rear axles to the rame, or supplied by mounting one end of each front and rear spring with a pivotal connection to the trame instead ofthe ordinary shackle connection. p

ln striking an obstruction such as Q, the

front axle is vertically accelerated with a `lorce lF; this torce F is resisted at Gr bythe inertia of the mass lli, creating an unbalanced force at y, which torce is transmitted v.through drag-link lll to f, and so through the bell crank B to GC. There it is resist-v ed by the inertia of the mass L', The torce f is therefore transmitted 'equally to both axles and is absorbed bythe acceleration of the whole mass of the trame. llithe obstruction in Q, be negative, the resulting acceleration in the trame is ot the sainemagnitude, but opposite in sign. l

As betere stated, the roadway is'composed l ot an equal number of positive and negative obstructions; it, therefore, follows that 50% ot the obstructions simultaneously struck by the front and rear axle, must be opposite in sign, and since each shock torce is trans-l initted equally to both axles, it follows that frame will be the algebraic sum or the two,

those torces of opposite signmust counter-4 act each other and the resulting acceleration to the trame be materially lessened; in tact, it the front and rear axles "receive simultaneous shocks that are opposite in sign, and these create equal and opposite accelerating forces, the resultant acceleration` to the or zero. This hase ot vehicle suspension ot causing roadpshocks 'of opposite sign to counteract each other, and thus maintain an easier riding platform, is one et the novel teatures ot the invention.

Another phase oit, the suspension-that is Va front' and a rear axle, trent and rea;

cranlrs and to the traine, and rode iin/lates novel, liesin the tact that since the shoch forces are always equally transmitted to both axles, the resulting accelerating torce to the frame (either positive or negative), is of the same magnitude and sign at both axles, and the result is 'a riding platform having a parallel movement to the mean roadway, eliminating the disagreeable pitchling movement of the ordinary. suspended vehicle platform. l

, Having shown that any shock :torce is transmitted equally to both axles, and consequently to both ends of the tramait .is very easy to show the trame acceleration from any shock force through either axle @en is only half as great as in a vehicle having the ordinary spring suspension.

' Let l? equal any accelerating torces--posin tive or negative-g M equals mass ot car' above the springs. A equals acceleration, F

- il equals MA, or A. equalsriin a balance suspension vehicle. v

lln an ordinary suspension'the shoclr at y 'M either axle is absorbed by a mass cona sidering that the mass is equally supported. by both axleso fina an ce. ThGDILAM, j

.mit

springs connected to the platform, rotatable means having connection with each axle the corresponding spring, a connection between said rotatable means, and a connection 3,35 between each axle and the plattform; I

2, lin a vehicle, the traine, a trontand rear axle, bell cranks respectively pivoted to trent and rear axles, drag-links connect' one arm ot the trent bell cranlr with an aim ot the rear bell cranlr, and iront and springs connected with theY respective bell cranks and to the traine..

3., lin a vehicle, the trame, a iront and rear axle, bell cranks respectively pivoted g, vto the trout and rear axles, drag-links connecting one arm of the front bell cranlr an arm ot the rear bell crank, liront and rear springs connected with the respective bell :tnaageee tached from the front and rear axles to the frame.

4. 4In a vehicle, the frame a front' and rear axle, bell cranks respectively pivoted to the front and rear axles, transversely disposed springs respectively connected with an arm of each front bell crank and withthe franca-and with an arm of each rear bell crank and with the frame, and drag links respectively connecting an arm of each front bell crank with an arm of each rear bell crank.

5. In a vehicle, a load carrying platform, front and rear axles, springs at each end of the platform, bell crank levers at each end of the vehicle having connection with the platform and operable to provide variable unbalanced opposing forces, and means cooperating With the bell crank levers and the platform whereby the opposing forces counteract each other and produce equilibrium.

In testimony whereof, I sign this speciication in the presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST E. WEMP.

Witnesses:

J OEL L. WARDELL, v T. TURK. 

